Nayef Aguerd is ‘exerting strong pressure’ on West Ham United to let him join Olympique de Marseille, where Mehdi Benatia is pushing hard to get him.
[That’s according to Africa Foot](https://africafoot.com/nayef-aguerd-met-la-pression-a-west-ham/), who explain that Marseille consider the recruitment of a fast and experienced central defender as a top priority and Aguerd is at the top of their wish list.
The West Ham man is considered as having the ideal profile and their sporting director, Benatia, is keen to sign him for the French club.
He is pushing hard to get a deal over the line, particularly as he’s in agreement with Roberto de Zerbi on the matter and there is competition from Sunderland and Juventus.
However, the situation at West Ham is not helping matters. They are described as ‘tense’ after a poor start to the season that’s seen them concede 10 goals so far.
That’s led Aguerd to believe he needs to leave. He wants to be playing in a more competitive environment ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations and potentially the World Cup.
He already has a personal agreement in place with Benatia, but West Ham want as much money as possible to limit their losses on a player who cost them €35m in 2022.
A swift outcome on the matter is expected, with Aguerd putting the pressure on West Ham to let him go.